NOTE A

If the relationship between philosophy and the economy is not to be investigated abstractly, within the limits of the Chinese market economy its most remarkable contemporary feature is the great role of intervention by administrative power. Were the element of power to be set aside, it would be difficult to research the link between philosophy and the Chinese economic develop-ment.

This phenomenon is reflected both in the planned economy since 1949 in China, and in the totalitarian tradition which has always taken power to be most important. At first sight, a planned economy should produce excellent economic order, but in fact it gives rise to an anarchic situation because, being insensitive to market dynamisms, it tends towards disorder.

Several years ago, the new political theory on "new authori-tarianism" appeared in China whose representatives believed it would promote development of a sense of the market and demo-cratic politics in China through a good use of power. But it left unanswered the questions of how to market and of democratic politics.

But the real authority should be the law. However, because of lack of development on the part of the Chinese economy, it is not easy to realize the authority of law in the workings of the market economy.

Many instances of corruption in Chinese economic life give evidence of the importance in China of setting up the authority of law. This is related to building a new value system in China, which in turn has reference to an understanding of the Chinese traditional culture.

We live two paradoxes: The first is that, on the one hand, the tradition makes the person while, on the other hand, the person makes the tradition; the second is that we must change the tradition.

This requires first knowing a coordinate for choosing the tradition. This should be objective, not subjective, for the former is suited to the objective needs of the contemporary Chinese market and such ideas as freedom, equality and democracy.

If we set up objectively our own value coordinates, the tradi-tion will become transparent. One cannot understand the past, if one does not know the present. So the most important thing is not abstract argument from one concept to anther, but reflection and understanding of the nature of the present Chinese lifeworld.

already considered Buddha to be present in everyone’s soul. All creatures are alive; even a stone has life. At that time, to the mind of some of Xiao Cheng’s disciples this view seemed fallacious. But when the translation of Da Ban Yie Ban Yin ( ) came out it confirmed that Buddha is present in everything with no exceptions, even of a stone. It is said that Master Dao Sheng travelled widely to disseminate Buddhist doctrine. The story that once he went to Hangzhou to give a sermon, and the stone in the pool bowed to him survives to the present day. Though only folklore, it implies an ethical principles for environmental protection. The stone, if viewed merely as a stone, certainly is lifeless, but in Chinese philosophy the Confucian, Taoist and Buddhist schools all believe that everything is infused with life and is equal so that even a stone had a reason for existence and its proper soul.

Chinese Da Sheng Buddhism holds that everybody and everything has the Buddhist spirit and can turn into Buddha and display its splendid life value in the world. The idea of ecological ethics that everything in nature has equal life value, equal right and equal dignity in nature is very similar to what Chinese Da Cheng Buddhism calls the Buddha soul and spirit. It is claimed in Da Ban Yin Ban Yin ( ) that all things have an equal right to survive and evolve. This is similar to the theory of modern ecological ethics which also upholds that everything on earth has the right to exist and develop.

Modern ecology requires us to change nature and protect it. The co-existence of the objectives of nature and humanity requires that we adopt a policy of both changing and protecting the nature.

Humankind cannot use nature’s objective to replace his own, but he be at the mercy of nature. For the same reason, we cannot supplant nature’s objective by that of humanity. We must acknowledge and respect nature’s objective, and protect its ecological balance, structure and reproductive capacity. At same time, under certain conditions, we must transform nature, change the course of realizing its objective, and enable the human objective to be realized. From this starting point, we must draw upon the treasures of ancient philosophy and strive vigorously to construct and develop ecological ethics.CHAPTER XX

The development of an ideal personality is a necessity for every human and is a topic of philosophical research. In history there is a parallel between the development of the personalities of both men and a women, but the difference between the two is much more conspicuous. Generally speaking, the molding and improvement of women’s personality is more difficult and requires more attention. Of course, the forming of personality is influenced by many elements, among which is the economical activity. From the point of view historical materialism this is the primary and the most immediate factor. This study concerns the relation between development of economics and of the personality of women.

The theme here is that both males and females are subjects of a creative society, but under different socio-economic forms which imply that the female has a specific experience. During economically primitive times women held a higher position as authorities of families and society, but were not self aware in this regard. In agricultural economies, women’s authority collapsed and they lost their whole personality, manifesting thereby the antinomy which can exist between the development of the economy and of women’s personality. The development of the industrial economy and the establishment of the system of democracy awoke and helped evolve women’s personality. However, backwardness of thought regarding the development of the economy and consequent male behavior created difficulties for women’s personality development. A modernized economy will enrich the female subject’s personality and open the possibilities for women to rediscover their self and improve their personality.

Almost every nation has undergone a time when they worshiped female goddesses and had beautiful legends concerning their authority. Female goddesses could not only repair heaven and make the earth, but could also create and multiply human beings. The worship of female goddesses reflects the authoritive position of female in material things and in producing human beings during primitive economic times. With respect to material production, their level then was very low. Women collected natural fruit, while men hunted for animals, but because of poor instruments men often came back with nothing, whereas the collection of fruit by women was the main source of food. In their state of group marriage, everyone knew his or her mother without knowing the father; child bearing was considered the business of women alone. In both material and human production women occupied a dominant position and were respected by everybody. With men they worked hard for the development of humankind, but did not ride roughshod over people by means of their position. Hence, their personalities were sound and beneficial. In such a time women had both position and personality, but they could not be said to have had independent individual personalities. They were conscious of a heavy dependence upon nature and human beings; there was no place for a sense of independent personality.

Progress in productive tools changed the natural division of labor. The rise of agriculture and livestock provided a new productive force. In addition, individual marriage replaced group marriage so that people knew their own parents. Child bearing was no longer a holy affair, but a burden binding women in the family. Men came to occupy the authoritive position in society originally held by women. With the establishment of the system of private property, women no longer had an independent personality, but became an exploited and oppressed part of men’s property.

The development of economy and the progress of the marriage relation need not have led to the loss of women’s personality, but the fact is just the contrary. We have seen several antinomies above: first, women invented primitive agriculture, contributed to the invention of fire and livestock farming, and helped to bring about the development of the economy and progress in history. At the same time, women showed themselves less competent than men in such productive activities as agriculture and livestock farming, which made them subordinate to men; second, women contributed to the continuation of the human race, but child bearing bound them in families and deprived them of the opportunity to take part in social activities; third, males created the culture and value system and made themselves subjects of the society, while treating females as object and tools. Although these are historical antinomies, they were inevitable for human beings in their efforts to free themselves for the bonds of nature. In a society of low productive power, it is an axiom that the weak are prey to the strong. The backwardness of production and its corresponding feudal system and culture could not provide room for an equality of both sexes. Therefore, for the progress of the economy it was unavoidable that women’s personality would be sacrificed. In the dark ages in China as well as in the West women could not participate in politics and the praiseworthy characters of the female were also distorted: women become jealous due to living together with their husband’s concubines; they became self effacing due to being subject to maltreatment; and they became narrow-minded through living for a long time in the boudoir without going out. In the meantime, the distortion of the male personality was manifested in another way. Many men were subordinate to other men due to the social system which gave primary to the father’s rights so that they had no personality of their own. In the family, marriage for the sole purpose of child bearing and expression of the sexual impulse without love alienated the human essence of males.

The industrial economy destroyed the natural sense of the family as the basic unit. Great quantities of labor were needed by large industry. This created opportunities for women to enter social life, to participate in economic activities, to earn salaries, and hence no longer to be the property of others. This provided a good basis for their positions as social subjects. In addition, the democratic system, corresponding to the industrial economy, promoted such ideas as "all are equal in terms of money"; "all are equal before the law", "all are equal before God". This gave rise to public opinion favorable to the independence of women as regards their personality. All this was helpful in awakening women’s personalities as subjects. In industrial society women actively fulfilled their obligations while seeking their legitimate rights and interests in activities which constantly improve their personality. However, the following elements in industrial society frustrated the development of women’s personality or even subjected it to certain deviations.

First, industrial production places the machine at the center; it aims at producing material objects and is determined by the investment of human power and other resources; it emphasizes physical labor and operational technology, and the proportion of physical labor is much greater than that of mental work. This situation is unfavorable to women; they suffer sexual discrimination in seeking a job, which hinders the establishment of women’s personalties as subjects.

Second, due to the backwardness of ideas in comparison to the progress of the economy, certain feudal ideas such as "the male has dignity while the female is humble" and "a woman should be subordinate to a man" still fetter women, and influence social expectations regarding their role and value. This gives rise to certain dilemmas for women in seeking their rights and fulfilling their obligations. Many women feel a tension between their role in society and in their family, and in seeking a position in social life while feeling a sense of obligation to be a good wife and mother.

Third, the male culture inclines women to be masculine: as society has long been dominated by men the behavior of successful men in social life is taken as the pattern for all people. As women have not created their own pattern of behavior, they must conform to the pattern of man’s behavior so that their role in social life will more easily be accepted. This stage cannot be surmounted until women fully participate as subjects in society. Although the slogans such as "equality for both sexes" play a great role in freeing women from the fetters of family to become subjects in society, they are harmful to the maintenance of the distinctively female personality. In China, a trend toward the masculinization of women was strong after the 1950s, and reach its height in the 1970s. The "Iron Young Woman" in the 1950s was very similar to the male physique; in the 1970s the dress, even the style of women’s hair, was masculinized. Coming into 1980s, people exclaimed with surprising that "there are no woman in this country"; they began to doubt whether the "strong woman" was perfect in personality. Women refused to be masculinized.

However, people have no answer to the question what is the ideal personality for women? They sink into puzzlement and inertia. Men are afraid of their wives being "strong women", and women themselves fear being "strong women". In order to be thought of as tender, many women do not dare to show their talent, but then they worry about being too feminine; they do not know how to mould their personalities. The solution to the problem requires further development in the economy as well as constant progress in ideology; one is complementary to the other.

The modernized economy is a great revolution over the traditional one and will bring about change in all facets of society. The female personality will be developed and improved in the process of the modernization of society and its ideal will be realized.

First, the productive mode of the modernized economy helps manifest the personality of women as subjects. In modern industry, what determines the production is no longer physical human strength, but the application of a high level of technology, which increases the proportion of mental work. Now in some developed countries, the proportion of mental work versus physical labor approximates 1:1, while the value created by the former far exceeds that created by the latter. Therefore, the application of high level technology will reduce or eliminate the physical inferiority of women in production, and enable women to give play to their superiority in patience, carefulness and nimbleness. This is obviously indicated in developed countries: in the U.K. women have more job opportunities than men.

Second, the operational mode of a modernized economy enables women to choose the job suited to them. The open, dynamic pattern of the economy enables women to find positions of their own in a wider range of social activity. In developed countries, women are exploring molding ideal personalities. They are not the traditional good mothers and wives who sacrifice themselves in a closed family context, nor are they the so-called strong women of industrial times. They develop their own standard and hope to get a valuable job with flexible hours and a good location; they hope to take account of both family and career. Some women give up work and become housewives while bring up their children, but their return to the family is for the purpose of educating their children and giving their children the natural love of a mother so that the children can grow soundly. In the meantime, they engage in further studies to give play to their potentialities or to develop their interests, so that they will be more competitive when they take up a career after their children have grown up. Such exploration is praiseworthy under the conditions of a modernized economy; it advances the civilization of the whole society.

Third, the high educational level of society, the high degree of democracy and the modernization and socialization of house work due to the modernization of the economy will enable women to elevate their quality as human beings, to demonstrate their personality, to strengthen their competitive power in social life, and to realize a sound personality. There will be a day when we need no longer emphasize that the male and the female differ and recognize that there is something common to both sexes. Then the peculiar and varied beauty of the character and personality of the female will demonstrate itself naturally in the world.

Of course, molding the female personality depends not merely on the progress of economy and is not merely a matter for women alone. It depends on the consistent efforts of the whole society; this requires theoretical work by scholars to find the incompatibilities and in time eliminate them.